What’s required to accelerate the EV Charging Infrastructure in India – EQ Mag Pro
Recently various leading governments, businesses and investors have shown their commitment towards net zero targets and sustainable mobility among which India is committed towards its 2030 EV ambition.
Recently various leading governments, businesses and investors have shown their commitment towards net zero targets and sustainable mobility among which India is committed towards its 2030 EV ambition. In the past few-years the government has pushed the usage of electric vehicles through various initiatives like introduction of FAME Scheme, Production Linked Incentive Scheme for the automotive sector that promotes domestic production of batteries and introduction of 100% FDI in the sector.
Other than these initiatives, E-Amrit portal has been launched by the government to boost consumer knowledge and solve for queries related to electric vehicles. Additionally, various states have come out with their respective EV policies and roadmaps and recently the Indian Government has announced the budget for 2022 which focuses on promoting clean mobility through introduction of battery swapping policy in electric vehicles.
As of January 2022, the total registered EVs in India (across all vehicle categories) amounted to ~9.13 lakhs as per the Vahan Portal. To add, among the total EVs sold in 2021-22, the share of two-wheelers was the highest at ~49%, followed by three-wheelers that accounted for almost 45%. According to CEA, there are 934 total public charging stations in India as of June 2020.
On the other hand, as per the internal market research conducted by Statiq there are ~1200 EV chargers installed. Looking at the current market scenario there is one public charger available per 22 cars, whereas according to research & analysis this ratio should be one public charger available per 8 cars. This current scenario shows the gap in the EV charging infrastructure which is a big problem in the country.
The EV owners in India are currently facing various challenges including lack of EV charging infrastructure, poor charging infrastructure and range anxiety, lack of service options, lack of standardization, affordability, unreliable charging experience and others.
Firstly, to solve for the issue of Accessibility to Charging Infrastructure, there is a need to develop an ecosystem of chargers which includes residential buildings, commercial buildings, hotels, highways, and others. This can be achieved through creating awareness and educating people and stakeholders involved. There is a need for the stakeholders (real estate firms, RWA’s and others) to be proactive and consider EV charging as an essential amenity. To add, at the policy level, there is immediate intervention required by the government in the area of building bylaws.
Secondly, to solve for the problem of Reliable Charging Experience, we need to push for less fragmented charging networks, Indian compatible chargers which break less and reliable payment experience. All these efforts will not only improve the overall customer experience and confidence in the new technology, but also boost EV demand and solve for the classic chicken and egg problem in this industry.
Lastly, there is a need to solve for the issue of Affordability. Currently, majority of the chargers are imported from countries like China & Germany and are not being manufactured locally which results in high cost of chargers. Additionally, quality of the chargers is a major drawback and once broken these chargers take a lot of time to get functional. Such issues increase the overall CAPEX for setting up the EV infrastructure, inhibiting various players from entering the market. Hence, there is a need to support Indian manufacturers and push for domestic production.
To summarize, despite the various efforts by the government in the past, there is a need for strong policy support, aggressive investments by OEMs, a shift in the mindset of stakeholders involved, customer awareness which will create demand for EVs and continuous efforts by companies like Statiq which are trying to solve for the various issues discussed above and through their work are trying to provide reliable charging experience, accessibility to charging infrastructure and solving the issue of fragmented charging networks.
Source: financialexpress
